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Analysis: Expanding Chavez's Revolution

Council on Foreign Relations

November 30, 2007
Author: Stephanie Hanson

Ahead of a December 2 referendum on constitutional reforms, thousands of Venezuelan university students have taken to the streets in protest (CSMonitor). But they face a stiff challenge in blocking the reforms that would broadly expand President Hugo Chavez’s powers. The Venezuelan government, awash in oil revenues, has shared the windfall—from the upper-middle class down to the poor in Caracas’ barrios. A gallon of gas runs a mere 6.3 cents. As a result, Chavez is likely to win approval (IHT) for a package of changes to Venezuela’s constitution expanding his particular brand of socialism, the so-called Bolivarian revolution.

The president and his followers already control most of the government, including the National Assembly, the state-owned oil company, and the courts. The proposed constitutional changes, however, further centralize Chavez’s power (Economist), allowing him to be reelected indefinitely, giving him more leeway for declaring states of emergency, and mandating the creation of new regions led by vice presidents picked by Chavez. Other amendments call for economic changes, such as allowing the president control over the central bank. A report (PDF) from the Venezuelan government (in Spanish) outlines the sixty-nine amendments in the referendum.

Critics say the proposed amendments are authoritarian, but the Venezuelan government is careful to point out the reforms will only be enacted with popular approval. Bernardo Alvarez Herrera, Venezuela’s ambassador to the United States, says discussions of the reforms were open to “massive public participation.” In a recent talk at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, he said the reforms are meant to accomplish “increased participation and social justice,” but did not explain why expanded presidential powers were necessary.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2007 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.